Peter Derksen- A servant for Jesus’ sake

Peter Derksen never wavered in his belief that God called him to ministry in Japan. That conviction led him and his wife
Peter Derksen never wavered in his belief that God called him to ministry in Japan. That conviction led him and his wife

WINNIPEG, Man. (Mennonite Church Canada/Mennonite Mission Network) — Peter Derksen never wavered in his belief that God called him to ministry in Japan. That conviction led him and his wife, Mary, to serve there as church planters for more than 45 years, creating a network of believers who are still impacting Japan today.

They ministered with the Commission on Overseas Mission, a predecessor to Mennonite Church Canada Witness and Mennonite Mission Network.

Peter passed away Nov. 15, 2014, after a valiant struggle with Parkinson’s disease. A memorial service was held Nov. 26 at Emmanuel Mennonite Church in Abbotsford, British Columbia.

Mary said that her departed husband and ministry partner drew his life motto from 2 Corinthians 4:5: “… your servants for Jesus’ sake.”

“Peter and Mary had a very special gift for starting new churches that had a solid foundation and have continued to the present, and also in developing good leadership in those churches,” said Robert Ramseyer in an email interview. Robert and his wife, Alice Ruth, are long-time friends of the Derksens, and served as fellow missionaries in Japan. “I say ‘Peter and Mary’ because they were a real team. Neither could have done the work without the other.”

While Peter led their church-planting efforts and preached, Mary was deeply involved in building the relationships fundamental to church planting, even as their family grew to include six children.

The Derksens’ ministry began by teaching English language lessons. That provided the opportunity to model faithful living and talk about Christ. Their commitment to their church plant in Oita, a city in southern Japan on the island of Kyushu, sparked the growth of a tightly knit group of young adults. Through Peter’s encouragement, young leaders from that group became Christians and eventually pastors.

Shozo Sato was invited to serve as the first local pastor of Oita Mennonite Church. After a few years, he moved back to his hometown of Miyazaki to start a Mennonite church there. Junji Sasaki, a member of the Derksens’ youth group, followed Shozo as the pastor of Oita. Sasaki still serves there after 32 years.

Tadayuki Ishiya, another member of the original youth group, has served as pastor of Hiroshima Mennonite Church on the largest and most populated Japanese island, Honshu, for the past 30 years, a church planted by the Derksens’ friends, the Ramseyers.

Both Sasaki and Ishiya extend the Anabaptist reach into the wider community by organizing annual peace seminars in their areas.

Getting started was challenging, Mary said, and sometimes seemed slow. In a culture with tightly knit families and prominent Buddhism, being open to Christianity meant risking family harmony. She shared the story of Sasaki, the long-time Oita pastor. After watching the movie The Ten Commandments several times, he turned to the Derksens to learn about the love of God.

“At first there was no confrontation between his Buddhist family and us,” Mary reported. “But when he [Sasaki] decided to attend a Christian college and seminary in Tokyo, his parents paid us a visit. They begged us with tears to stop their son from his ambitions to become a pastor!”

Eventually, Sasaki’s determination won out and his parents began to attend the occasional church meeting.

In his early life, Peter likely never imagined taking part in such transformation. He was born Aug. 12, 1928, in Reinland, Manitoba, but spent most of his formative years in Abbotsford. He and his four siblings grew up in a home with little material wealth, but richly immersed in Anabaptist faith, farm chores, music, hospitality and volunteering.

According to an old collection of typewritten missionary biographies compiled by Bethel Mennonite Church in Winnipeg (1967), Peter remembered inviting Jesus into his heart as a child and taking a public stand for Christ at about the age of 12. In junior high school, he first took notice of Japan through the unexplained disappearance of several Japanese classmates. It wasn’t until later that he realized they had been sent to internment camps following the World War II attack on Pearl Harbor.

An intelligent, studious young man, Peter managed to finish high school two years earlier than most. From the age of 16, he engaged his passion for faith and learning within the walls of Mennonite schools, first in Abbotsford and then in Winnipeg at Mennonite Brethren Bible College, where he met Mary Klassen. The two connected through Mary’s roommate, who introduced them in the school’s residence kitchen where they were given the chore of peeling potatoes.

“We were in service together from the start,” Mary said. The two married in 1951.  

Peter furthered his studies at Bethel College in North Newton, Kansas, and The Biblical Seminary in New York (founded in 1900, now known as New York Theological Seminary). Following that, he taught at Bethel Bible Institute in Abbotsford and preached on the live radio gospel broadcast, Messengers of Peace. During this time, he was moved by a presentation of missionary W. C. Voth, who had just returned from a post-war exploratory trip to Japan on behalf of COM. Voth proclaimed that it was an opportune time and place for missionaries. Peter felt that God was calling him and his wife to go.

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The Derksens embarked on their journey in 1954 with two young children in tow—Vangy and Rickie—and with Robert and Alice Ruth Ramseyer and their infant son, Mark. The Derksens returned to Canada in 1999, but they kept in touch with the many friends they had made in Japan over the years, Christian and non-Christian alike.

From 2001 to 2008, they helped pastor Surrey (British Columbia) Mennonite Church with George and Martha Janzen. The church was started by Anna Dyck to serve Japanese immigrants. In a way, it was a family affair; the Janzens and Dyck were also retired COM missionaries who served in Japan, and friends of the Derksens.

Dr. Taiji Sakamoto, a friend in Japan, told the Derksen family after Peter’s death that “people in Japan will never forget his kindness …. His way of life shows me what the real life of a true Christian is.”

Even as he lay in the hospital suffering near the end of his days, Mary said that Peter would still tell all who came to visit, “God is good. God is always good!”

Peter will be dearly missed by Mary, his wife of 63 years; his older sister, Erna (Jake) Tilitzky; his six children: Vanj (Ernie) Thiessen; Rick (Marilyn) Derksen; Rose (John) Snyder; Bill (Donna Tennant) Derksen; Wanda (Bruno) Derksen-Bergen; and Lily (Roy Wang) Derksen; 14 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

This is a joint release of Mennonite Church Canada and Mennonite Mission Network.